Machine for building cylindrical tire blanks



ZSHEEIS SHEET l.

B. DE MATTIA. MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYLINDRICAL TIRE BLANKS.

FILED IIIAII. 9, 1920.

Jan. 16, 1923.

E ...7% A. .Q ...N EN s 1 I- I 1| IllIrIl I I TIII wm I Nw I E' I l I A151: .l

.Hm I r.. ...nu QM, bm.

mv MN V NN. ,Y

Jan. IG, 1923.

B. DE MATTIA. MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYIINDRICAL IIIIE BIANKS.,

FILED MAR. 9. 1920.

III J .m5 IIIIIIIIIII :bum I. WIIIIIIMIMMIIIIIIIHHIIIIIIMHHHHHIWMUN.IWIHHHHMHnIIIwIIUHIIMHHIIIHMHIIIIIIIIII -I\I\ .I I ITD, II G FII I I l! ../.Iwwv O III I um I @o wwww F Nw M um m. w ,m A I @In I I @I I -Inn I I@ IH I o Q I II IIII IIIMWI IIII I IIIIIIIII. W, II IIIII IIII IMMWNII IIINIIIII QQNE 'III II. Ev0 O O IQ IQ -..Mami II IIIII I- IMQQ INN .SQ o I I IIIIIIIIII IIMPIMWIIM IIHIIIIIIIM- I IIR. I UI. I Av I I I .YW Imm, QN EN IN wN .QN IIIR. IN@ I II III I I I I I III III. I II I .QI uw ov/Fs Nw.

.mvv l.. l. l f WN. mmv I l JI l m m .JIP

Jan., 16, 1923 B. DE MATTIA. MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYLINDRICAL TIREBLANKS.

FILED MAH. 9, 1920,

H m W.. W

.w A TTOH/l/EYS w n n n n H- "m n n n n E Jan. 16, 1923.

f B. DE MATTIA. MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYLINDRICAL TIRE BLANKS.

SHEETS-SHEE`I 4.

FILED MAR. 9. 1920.

Jam.16,1923.V 1,442,653. B. DE MATTIA.

` MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYILINDRICAL TIRE BLANKS.

FILED MAR. 9. 1920. SHEETS-SHED 5.

ATTORNEYS Jan. 16, 1923. 1,442,653. B. DE MATTIA.

MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYLINDRICAL TIRE BLANKS FILED MAR. 9| I920.

TEF-12- TSHEETS-SHEEI 6.

Jan. 16, 1923. 1,442,653. B. DE MATTIA.

MACHINE FOR BUILDING CYLINDRICAL TIRE BLANKS.

FILED MAR. 9. 1920. ZSHEETS-SHEEI 7.

www E. f

Arron/ms Patented dan. "le, i923..

UNH

rar

satana MAUHINE FR BUILDING CYLINDRICAIL TIRE BLS.

.Application `liled March 9, 1920. Serial No.y 364,584.

of casings or shs for pneumatic tires the carcass is built up of aplurality of superimposed strips of canvas' or other woven fabric coatedand impregnatedwith a rubber compound, in which thethreads rundiagonally across the strip. In a (companion application vfiled of evendate herewith, Serial No. 364,533, I have described a machine iorproducing strips of tire :making fabric of the desired length, and inthe pres.

ent application will be described a mechanism for taking' such strips offabric as they come from the machine described inmy companionapplication and wrapping them aboutY a cylinder or drum and so operatingupon them as to produce by the use of such strips and a suitable treadstrip and other materials which will be described, a plurality of'cylindrical tire blanks which will be subsequently expanded, shaped andmanipulated to form casings or shoesfor pneumatic tires.-

An object of the present invention is to produce a machine whereby acylindrical tire blank comprising a plurality of lsuperimposed layers of.rubber coated fabricmay be quickly produced, and whereby the bead inthe edges ofthe blank may be quickly/ formed in what willbe practicallya jointless-bead construction, and' whereby also the tread strip may bereadily applied to the outer surface `of the superimposed layers offab-- ric and by a more-or lessautomatically op erating mechanism' toproduce simultaneously a plurality of cylindrical tire blanks.

To the above ends thel resent invention consists of the devices ancombination of devices which will be hereinafter described and claimed.y

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings inwhichl Figure 1 shows a brokeny top plan view of the machine, alsoillustrating in plan view a portion of the machine which produces thesections of bias fabric strips which are to be utilized in the; vpresentmachine, also showing anjntervening conveyor.

Figure 2 shows the machine in broken, front elevation together with oneform'of a suitable driving mechanism.

Figure 3 shows the machine in broken side elevation looking at the righthand side .of the machine as shown in Figure 2, also showing portions ofthe machine for producing the bias fabric strips and the intervening orinterconnecting conveyor.

Figure 4 shows a detail of 4a portion of the controlling mechanism forthe cenveyor and pressure roll, on the line 4.--4 in Fig. 1.

F igure 5 shows in partial elevation and partial sectional view detailsof the controlling mechanismk forfthe pressure roll, on the line-55 inFig. 3.

Figure 6 shows a rear elevation of portions of the drum and other partsmore particularly illustrating the mechanism for shifting the turretbed.

' Figure 7 shows a sectional view taken through the base ofthe machinewith the drum and other parts shown in end elevation.

Figure' 8 shows a front elevation and partial section of the doubleclutch mechanism which is employed at theend of the machine for cuttingand producingI theY bias strips, which in itself forms no part of thepresent invention.

'Figure 9 shows a diagrammaticl view of the driving mechanism which isshown at thetop of Figure 2.

Figure --10 vhows a cross sectional view through the drum, on the line.l0-10 in Fig. l1. l

Figure 1l shows a diametrical cross section through portions ofV thedrum.

Figure 12 shows in elevation a portion ofthe drum Vand illustrating theapplication thereto of the first layer of fabric after being cut, butbefore being shaped or stitched as the term is used in this art.

Figure 13is a similar view'showing the first layer of fabric 'after ithas been cut and shaped and with the second layer superimposed thereonafter being cut, but before being shaped.

Figure 14 isa similar view showmg the second layer of fabric after 'ithas been shaped or stitched and a third layer of fabric superimposedthereon after it has `als been cut, but before being shaped or stitched.

Figure 15 shows a similar view after the third layer of fabric has beenshaped or stitched.

Figure 16 shows a similar view after the bead forming rubber coatedwirek and the flipper have' been applied.

Figure 17 shows a similar view after the application of another striphas been made covering the flipper and bead formingl material'.

Figure 18 shows a similar view after the application of another strip.

Figure 19 shows a similar vieu7 after another strip and the chafingstrips have been applied. p

Figure 20 shows a similar view after the cushioning strips and the treadforming strip have been applied.

Figure 21 shows" a very muchfenlarged sectional view of a portion of oneof the huilt-up blanks shown in Figure '20.

Figure 22 shows a perspective view, partially broken away so as to showa transverse section, of the completed cylindrical blankf after theremoval from the drum, and lwitg the chafing strip Wrapped about the eav It will of course be understood that in Figures 12 to 21 inclusive thefabric and the partially formed tire blank are supposed to be shown incross section.

Similar reference characters will be employed throughout thespecification and drawings to designate corresponding parts.

The machine of course will comprise a suitable frameor support for theoperative parts of sufiicient .size and shape land made .of suitablematerlal. to form an effective supportl and may or may not be exactly asshown in the drawings. The main part lof the machine consists of thedrum 1 mounted upon a shaft 2, which shaft is fitted 1n and supported torotate with a sleeve 202 -and held therein by the split collars 203,

fitted tothe shaft 2 at each side of the bearings 3 at the upper end ofthe short standards 4 of a frame which is afiixed to the upper surfaceof the bed 5, the split collars y203 holding the shaft from longitudinalmovement in the sleeve 202 while permitting it to be adjusted thereintoproject.A more or less at its opposite end.l The shaft 2 is providedwith keys 204, see Figure 10, and supports the drum 1 and itsopposite'end at the right hand end of the machine, as shown in Figure 2,is arranged to be-fitted into a rotary bearing 6 carried by a standard 7which is movably supported for slidl19mg movement on the upper surfaceof the e The standard 7 is arranged to be moved by means of a pinion 9supported by downwardly extending brackets 10 of the standard 7 Whichengages a rack bar 11 formed on the bed 5; the shaft vof the pinion 9being provided with a crank arm 12 by means of 'which the pinion may berotated to impart 1s adapted to assist in the support and formation ofthe cylindrical tire blank, as the machine of the drawing is intended toproduce four complete cylindrical tire blanks at each series ofoperation. The sleeve 202 carries a pulley 17 Which is driven by a belt18 'running from a pulley 19, and thus the drum 1 will be rotated Whilethe fabric from which the tire blanks are formed is being laid about thedrum and during the process of cutting andshaping thematerial from whichsuch tire blanks are formed` as will be described. The sect-ions 13 ofthe drum are formed separately as shown in Figure 11 and comprises therelatively broad sections 20 and the rings 21, the rings 21- and theedges of the sections 20 being provlded with complementary mating joints22 to assist in maintaining a rigid connection when assembled. The shaft2 carries a plurality of su ports 23 removably fitted thereto, the periperies of which are ,provided with seats 24 and with a stop or shoulder25 alon one edge to receive and position the' cylin rical fianges 26formed integrally with the sections 13 which are arranged to fit overand be supported upon the seats 24. The super surface ofthe fianges 26is slightly tapered to receive locking rings 27 of s uch diameter thatwhen the flanges 26 are'seated upon the seat -24 and the locking rings27 driven thereon the sections 13 and the rings 21 will be firmlysecured to the supports 23 and to the shaft 2. The supports`23 aresplined upon the shaft 2 to turn. therewith. The foregoing arrangementis such that when the sections 13 and the rings 21 are locked upon theshaft 2 they form practically a continuous drumthei-parts of which arefirmly locked together' andto .the shaft 2 to turn therewith as a singlestructure, but

Amay be removed from the machine and sepa- Maaate tool may be insertedto enga-ge and assist in removing the clamping rings 27.

Looking at Figure 1 of the drawing the chains 110 are the feeding chainsAleading from the machine which produces the fabric strip sections andthe conveyor C is also partially shown in the application, filedof evendate herewith, Serial number 364,533, leading from the end of themachine.

IThe conveyor C will be employed for the reason that it is a convenientway'of handling such strips of bias fabric as they come from the cuttingmachine and for the further reason that the speed of the conveyor maybel adjusted to conform not only to the speed of the feed chains 110which deliver the bias strip sections of fabric thereto, but also may beadjusted to conform to the surface speed of therotating drum 1.

The conveyor consists of an endless belt 30 which passes about a pulley31 supported in bearings at the upper end 'of standards 32 and whichalso passes-over a roller 33 supported in brackets 34 at the front ofthe machine and at the upper end of the vertical standards 35. From theroller 33 the belt 30 passes backward about a roller 36 and between thatroller and the roller 37 about which it passes in a reverse direction,the under run leading back to the pulley 31. A pressure roller 38 issupported by a shaft which i s mounted in hangers 39 pivotally connectedat 40 to pistons 41 of fluid pressure devices 42 supported by means ofbrackets 43 at the upper part of the frame or by the cross-head 44. Thepressure rol-ler 38 extends across the drum from end to end inpositionto bear against and apply pressure to the fabric as it iswrapped about the drum in building up the tire blanks. The pressureroller 38 is driven .by contact with the drum 1 or the materiallaidabout the drum and in turn drives the conveyor 30, for which purpose theshafts of the rollers 36, 37 and 38 are provided with sprocket wheelssurrounded. by a` chain 45 whereby the roller 38 will positively drivethe rollers 36'and 37 and drive the .conveyor C. The shaft supportingroller 38 in addition to being supportedby the hangers 39 willalso. besupported in the forward ends of levers 46 whereby to hold the roller'38 in contact with the surface rof the drum,

i For the purpose of trimming, cutting into tubular sections, andpressing or stitchingA required to be positioned longitudinally of4thedruin so as to operate at various points along its surface, forinstance at a point corresponding to the location of each groove,mechanism is provided whereby to quickly move the operating toolslengthwise of 'the drum, also foraccurately adjusting the position ofthetools with relation to the drum and to successively bring into operativeposition the various tools of a plurality of tools. For this purpose themachine comprises a rotary turret or tool carrier 47 having sockets 48to receive a plurality of tools, and this turret is mounted upon a plate49 sliding inA ways 50 toward and from the drum; the sliding motion` ofthe plate 49 being produced by a rack and pinion mechanism 51, seedotted lines, Figure 2, operated by handle 52. The block 53 whichsupports the turret 47 and the sliding plate 49 is mounted uponA theprojectingl end 54 of a carriage 5 5, the carriage being supported by a'sliding connection 56 upon the upper surface of the base 5. To quicklymove the carriage 55 along the upper surface of the base 5 at its rearend it is provided. with a down-turned bracket 57 which carries a shaftupon which is mounted a worm gear 58 and a connected pinion 59-thepinion engaging a rack bar 60 on the base 5. The worm gear 58 mesheswith a worm shaft 61 which is driven in reverse directions as requiredby the pulleys 62 and 63 and the direct or straight belt 64 and thecross belt 65, the pulleys 62 and 63 beingconnected to the shaft 61alternately as required by means of a double clutch mechanism 66 underthe control of the operator. The foregoing arrangement is such thatdependent upon which pulley 62 or 63 is clutched to the shaft 61 thesaid shaft will be rotated in that direction to turn the worm gear 58and pinion 59 in the direc- -tion required to quickly move the carriage55 and the tool turret Yback and forth along in front of the drum.

The clutch control lfor shifting the clutch 66 consists of a shaft 67carrying at its forward end a beveled gear 68 which meshes with abeveled gear 69 carried by a shaft 70. The shaft 70 passes thro-ugh abracket 71 depending from the carriage 55 and engaging the shaft 70 ateach side of a handle 72 immediately below the tool carriage in positionconvenient t6 the .operator and whereby he may quickly shift the clutch66 to cause a movement of the tool carriage in either direction parallelto the surface of the drum. llt will be understood of course that theturret 47 may be' revolved 'icc f top of Figures 1 and 2' and'in Figures8. and 9 is shown a form of driving mech#v to bring lany o f the toolssupported byand` extending forward as shown `in` Figures -1` and 3whereby either clutch may be connected to drive the conveyor always inthe same direction no matter which direction the pressure roller may bedriven in. 'At the anism designed not only to move certain of theoperating parts in reverse directions as required, but to move them atahigh or low speed as required and this mechanism as shown consists of amain shaft 7 8 carrying suitable pulleys about which the belts 64 and 65pass and from which theyare driven. This main shaft l78 by means of abelt 79 drives a counter shaft 80 which carries la pulley 19 drivingthe-belt 18. The counterl shaft 80 is driven by the belt 79 and thecross belt 81 at lone speed and by the belts 82 and 83 at-a di'erentspeed, thebelts 82v and 83 engaging pulleys 84 of less diameter than theApulleys 85 of the belts- 7 9*.and 81. Each of the groups of pulleys 84and 85 are loose on the shaft 80 and arrangedto vbe connected thereto by clutch devices 86 under thecontrol ofthe operator. The shaft 78 alsocarries a driving pulley 87. rlhe pulley 88 is loosely connected to the,shaft 89 of the machine for cutting and feeding 'the fabric whichformsthesubject matter of the companion application herein beforereferred to, a portion of -whichis shown in Figure 1 of the drawing ofthe present case, and a double clutch mechanism 90 and 91 under thecontrol of the operator by means of a lever 92 (see Figure 1) may beoperated to alternately cause the pulley-88 either to drive theintermediate feed chainsy of the cutting machinev (not shown) by meansof the chain 901 or the feed chains -110 of that machine and theconveyor Ci or when placed ina neutral position to permitthe conveyor Cto be driven by the pressure roller 38.

' The driving' and controlling devices asl described maybe of anyA otherdesign or form than that shown suitable for the purpose of producingsynchronous speed and the' required direction of movement inthe variousinstrumentalities operated thereby to cause that movement of the partsand more particularly the drum, at such speed and in such direction asmay be required to facilitate the delivery of the tire making l materialtothe drum, the wrapping of the material about the drum, and theoperation of the tools thereon 'to produce cylindrical Itire formingblanks in-a manner which will now be described.

AssumingV that the conveyor C has received from thefabriccuttingmachinea strip of fabric and that it is moving at a speedcorresponding to the surface speed of the drum, it will advance thisstrip of fabric to a point vwhere it passes off the conveyor and will beled by the operator to the surfacel of the drum and wrapped about vthesame and pressed smoothly thereon Vby the pressure roller 38.` Thisstrip of'fabric' extends from end to end of thedrum and is of a lengthsufficient to form one layer of a plurality of separate and distincttire blanks. Figure 12 shows the first layer of fabric 93 laid upon thedrum and. before cutting. After this strip has been laid upon the drumas shown in.' Figure 12 all parts of the machine with the exception ofthe drum are stopped, the clutches being thrown into a neutral positionand the pressure roller raised if desired. The tool turret is nowpositioned so that a cutter is brought into action so as to sever thestrip of fabric 93 at each end so that it will correspond in width tothe length of the drum from end toi end and it is also severed atintermediate points to cut the tube into four sections, the line of`cut-'at the intermediate pointsbeing at the outer edge of the righthand groove in each section of the drum as shown at 94. After the firstlayer of fabric has beenb'een severed as described the tool carriage isbrought back to its starting point and the appropriate stitching orforming tool is brought oppositeJ the grooves 15 successively and theends of each cylindrical section'y of the first layer of fabric 93 arepressed and forced into the grooves 15 as shown in Figure 13, andbecause of the position of the cuts 94 with relation to the grooves theend of the first Ilayer of fabric will be 4positioned inthe grooves asshown in Figure 13, that is to say at one-end it will entirely cover thesurface of the groove and extend upwardly to a point substantiallycoincident with the surface of the ring 16, whereasat the other end itwill coversubstantially the inner or left hand surface of the grooveextending only to the bottom of the groove.

After the rst layer 93 has vbeen shaped to the grooves as described asecond layer 95 is laid about the'drum and closelyypressed to thesurface of the layer 93. This layer will be Wrapped about the drum in adirection oppositeto the first layer, that is to say, assuming that thedrum revolving from right to left in Figure 3 when the first layer wasdelivered to the drum, it will be revolved from left tovright when thesecond layer isapplied and `accordingly the leading end of the secondlayer as it passes from the conveyor belt 30 over the roller 33 will beled backward beneath the pressure roller 38 and this will be the mannerof applying successive layers, The second layer 95 is nowV cut at eachend to correspond to the length of the drum and at intermediate pointsand preferably the intermediate cuts will be at points corresponding tothe central line of the flat surface of the rings 16 as shown at 90 inFigure 13. Having been cut the shaping tool is brought into position andforces the ends of the layer 95 into the grooves as 'shown in Figure 14extending downward along the inner surface of the grooves and partiallyacross the baseof the grooves. After the second layer 95 has beenapplied and shaped to the grooves' ay third layer 97 is applied, and itis out as shown in Figure 14- on lines coinciding with the right handedges of the flat surfaces of the rings 16 as indicated at 98 in Figurelll.- After being cut the ends of the tubular section 97 are pressed andstitched into the grooves and of course as one end is shorter than theother ity will at one end cover the entire surface of the groove and atthe other only a part of such surface as indicated at 99 and 100, inFigure 15. .lifter a sulcient number of layers have been laid about thedrum and cut up and stitched as described. the bead forming material isnow applied which consists of a flipper strip 101 laid about and. forcedinto each groove after which a rubber coated Wire 102 is Wound about andpacked closely in each groove as shown in 'figures 10 to 18 of thedrawing forming an endless bead for the tire blank andtire. After thewire bead formino-material which is coated with rubber has t:beenapplied to fill up the grooves, as shown, the ipper4 strip 101 is laidover to cover the bead forming material and stitched to the. uppersurface of the layer 97.' Thereafter a fourth layer of fabric 103 andaifth layer of fabi ric 10d and a sixth layer of fabric 105 are .Wrappedabout, pressed upon and secured 'to the preceding layers and properlycut and manipulated as required to produce a close union. 'lhereaften` asuitable cha-ling, strip 106 is applied at eafch end and cushion strips107 and a previously prepared vtread strip 108 are applied to eachcylindrical section as shown in Figuresll to 21 inclusive, dur ing allof which operations the application of the various cliaing strips,cusbioningi strips and tread strips to the entire structure isfacilitated and accomplished by the rotation of the drum and by theapplication thereto of the appropriate tools necessary for the purposecarried by the tool carriage.

As shown in' Figure '21 the 'cylindrical blank has been completed in sofar as it is built up and constructed in the present inachine whereuponby releasing the end of the shaft 2 by moving the carriage Z to theright as shown in Figure 2 the sections of the drum will be removed fromtbe machine,

and in order to remove the tire sections from the drum the drum) isdismantled b v releasing the locking rings 27 which permits the sectionsto be collapsed and separated and removed from the castings 23, thuspermitting the removal of the 'cylindrical tire sections.' Havingremo-ved the tire sections the chain'g strip 106 will be lturnedinwardly asiwell as the endsof the ylayers projecting beyond the beadand secured to the inneriI surface of the cylindrical blanlr as shown inFigure '22. This completes the vproduct as it comes from this machine.

l claim:

1. ln a machine off the class described, in combination, a rotary drum,a conveyor to deliver a strip of fabric to said drum to be wrapped aboutsaid drum, a pressure roller to press the fabric to said drum while itis being Wrapped about said. drum and con! necting mechanisms under thecontrol of the operator to drive the drum and. ,pressure roller at auniform. speed in opposite directions as required Without changing thedirection of' movement of the conveyorc lin a macbine of the classdescribed, in combination, a rotary drum, means to apply tire 'formingfabric then-:to` in separate superimposed layers and means' to operateyupon said layers of fabric to form plurality of separate cylindricaltire blanlrs, y

'3. ln a machine of the .class described, in

combination, a rotary drum. comprising a plurality ofannular sections, asupporting shaft, 'means for detachably mounting such sections upon theshaft and annular ringsinterposed between and engaging adjacent annularsections.

d. ln a machine of the class described, in combination, a rotary drumcomprising a plurality `of annular sections and independ .ent annularrings, a shaft and means to lock the 'sections and rings yupon the shaftin close relation" to eachother so that the outer surface of the drumforms a plurality `of-independent tirefblanlr forming surfaces..

5. ln a machine of the class described, in

combination, means for forming layers ofv fabric. in cylindrical forniand means for separating the same into a 'plurality of independentcylindrical tire blanks as the layers 'are applied.

los i lll@ and means to detachably connect the annular sections andrings in close relation to each other to form a drum.

8. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a rotary drum, apressure roller, means to press said roller against said drum, aconveyor operated by said pressure roller and means to reverse themovement of said drum and pressure roller -without changing thedirection of travel of the conveyor.

9. In a machine of the class described, in combination, a rotary drumcomprising a plurality of annular sections, a locking ring positionedbetween`adjaeent sections, a shaft and a' plurality of supportsremovably fitted to said shaft upon which the annular sections aremounted.

10. In a machine of 'the class described, in combination,v a rotary drumcomprising a plurality of annular sections, a, pressure roller rotated'.by said drum, a tool carrier movable from end to end of the drum, a normgear carried by the tool`carrier, a worm shaft lco-operating with theWorm gear, means to rotate said shaft, and means under the control ofthe operator to reverse the directions of rotation. l

ll. In a machine, 'of the class'described, in combination, a` frame, arotary drum, a shaft, standards supporting said shaft, one ofsaidstandards being movably supported by said frame, and means under thecontrol of the operator for moving said standard towards and awa fromsaid drum.

